Discover it Miles Travel Credit Card Review

Monica KowollikJanuary 10, 2018

Discover it Miles Travel Credit Card Review

As it is 2018, many people have rewards cards. But, a new type of card is catching on with travelers. Airline and hotel cards make it easy to save money and get rewarded when you travel. The Discover It Miles Travel credit card is one such card that is gaining attention. Cardholders are entitled to several perks when they use Discover Travel, and it’s important that you know what they are. This way, you’ll have a good idea if the Discover It Miles Travel credit card is a good fit for you.

Discover It Miles Travel Credit Card Pros

Discover It Miles Promotional Offer

One of the big Discover rewards perks with this travel card is the promotional offer. New cardholders will get a mile match by the lender at the end of their first year. There is no limit to the bonus amount either. So, if you’re someone who travels a lot, you may have 30,000 at the end of the year. Discover will match this amount, and you’ll get an additional 30,000-mile credit on your account. This totals out to a 3% reward rate for the first year you have the card.

Introductory APR

Discover It Miles Travel credit card holders will also get a generous introductory APR. You’ll have 14 months with 0% APR before it switches to the variable APR of 12.24% to 24.24%. If you’re planning on booking a large trip when you open this card, you’ll have room to pay it off without additional interest. This introductory APR offer is generous, especially by rewards card standards.

Simple Reward Rates

Many rewards or travel cards have complicated reward rates and categories. You won’t get this with the Discover credit card. You’ll enjoy one straightforward rewards program. This Discover card will give you 1.5 miles for every dollar you spend. There are no categories to keep track of and no rotating reward rates. If you spend $100, you’ll get 150 miles, and the rewards are unlimited. Discover Rewards do not have an expiration date so you do not need to worry about unused reward points expiring. Just keep your Discover credit account open and in good standing.

No Annual Fee

This card has no annual fee attached, and this is unusual for rewards cards. This enables cardholders to use their cards as little or as much as they want. They won’t have to feel guilty trying to justify an annual fee. Additionally, this can remove some of the stress of trying to cover the annual fee along with your normal payments.

No Foreign Transaction Fee

When you get a travel or a hotel card, you want one with no foreign transaction fee. The Discover It Miles Travel credit card delivers with no foreign transaction fee. You’re able to use your card wherever you want, and you won’t pay extra for it. For anyone who travels, you understand how important this perk is. Discover is expanding its global reach. They have partnered up with Union Pay (China) and JCB (Japan).

No Blackout Dates

Many travel cards come with blackout dates. These are dates where you can’t use your rewards to claim a seat on flights. If you’re on a deadline, you understand how frustrating this can be. You won’t have to worry about blackout dates when you use your Discover miles. There are no blackout dates, and you can fly any airline and stay at any hotel with your rewards.

Discover Scorecard

Cardholders with Discover cards have access to the Discover scorecard. You’ll be able to monitor your FICO score free, once a month. Discover it® receives their information through the TransUnion® credit reporting agency. Discover will also give you free fraud alerts to help prevent unauthorized transactions. If you’re rebuilding your credit or trying to protect it, this is invaluable. It’s also a free service that Discover cards offer, so there are no additional fees to worry about.

Excellent Customer Service

Most people dread calling customer service if they have an issue or a question about their card. However, the Discover credit card has a solid reputation for customer service based in the United States. This allows people to call in and get the answers they’re after quickly and easily. It can also help alleviate any stress they may have about trying to get to an actual agent.

Discover It Miles Travel Credit Card Cons

Lower Reward Rate

Although you get a decent amount of rewards with this card, the rates are lower than many other rewards cards. This is typically what happens when you get a straight point redemption system with one category. If you had a reward card with multiple categories, they usually offer staggered reward opportunities.

Lower Acceptance Rate

Discover is relatively well-known, but Visa and MasterCard beat it. You’ll have to double check that vendors take the Discover card brand. This lower acceptance rate can be a big drawback depending on where you plan to use your card the most.

No Miles Transfer

You redeem your Discover Card rewards as a statement credit toward travel rewards. They’re not like miles where you can use them with a frequent flyer program. You can’t transfer them around to other things like you can with some rewards cards. This can limit cardholders if they don’t travel a lot. You can redeem your rewards for flight tickets, hotels, car rentals, travel agents, commuter transportation, and online travel sites.

Variable APR

This Discover card comes with a variable APR between 12.24% to 24.24%. The APR you end up with depends on your credit score when you first apply for the card. Additionally, your APR may change over time, and this can scare some people off. No one wants their APR to go up, but it could with this card.

Bottom Line on the Discover it® Miles Travel Credit Card

The Discover It Miles Travel credit card is a very simple, straightforward travel card. The easy redemption process appeals to many people, and the card comes with many perks. This Discover travel credit card has no annual fee. If you travel a lot and you want a simple travel card, it may be worth checking into this card. If you frequently travel one airline an airline credit card may work better. The Spirit Airlines™ World Mastercard® offers a great sign up bonus.

CreditFast has reviewed the best travel credit cards on the market. Some of the credit card offers are from our advertising partners. CreditFast has objectively reviewed the features and benefits of each credit card. We have chosen travel and airline credit card offers based on our editor’s recommendations.

Monica has covered credit card and personal finance news for over 15 years. From an early age, she developed an interest in financial literacy and saving money. Monica hopes to help others to improve their personal finances one article at a time.